Memory Prime
by Rose Thorne
Summary: Hiei loses memory, etc. YAOI. Incestual/other rape MENTIONED in chapter 6; non-graphic bathing scene in chapter 7. Revised 09/23/02. Plagiarism of this or any other of my fanfics will not be tolerated. Kadyou and Youri are my creations.
1. Chapter One

Memory Prime

By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter One_  
Kurama barely managed to dodge the tentacle. He cursed as he hit the ground a bit too hard.

"Watch it, Fox!" Hiei yelled. Kurama jumped just in time to avoid a ki blast. _Che! Koenma didn't tell us it was an S-class . . ._ Hiei scowled.

Koenma had sent them to recapture or kill a youkai who had escaped from the Reikai prison.

_K'so!_ One of the tentacles grazed Hiei's side, the acid covering them eating his skin painfully. He lunged as he saw an opening, rage engulfing him. Kuwabara yelled something, but Hiei ignored it. _Stupid ningen! Always yelling . . ._ Too late, Hiei felt the buildup of ki. _K'so . . ._ He heard Kurama's yell before the world disappeared is a flash of bright light and pain.

* * *

"Get down!" Kuwabara yelled. Yuusuke and Kurama dropped immediately to the ground.

Kurama gasped as he saw Hiei near the demon, in mid-jump. _He's not going to make it!_ "Hiei!" There was a loud explosion. They barely saw Hiei's limp form blur past, disappearing into the forest.

The fox was engulfed in rage. "_Damn you_!" He was on his feet, Rose Whip in hand, in less than a second. The redhead's form wavered, then changed into that of a silver-haired youko. The youko flipped over the tentacled creature, slashing it with his whip. As he landed, he summoned a Makai Demon Eater, sending it at the youkai with one angry thought. A pain-filled shriek told him that the battle was over.

Yuusuke ran over. "Awww! You got all the fun!"

Kurama turned and fixed an icy glare on the boy. "Where's Hiei?"

Yuusuke glanced around. "Shit . . . I dunno." Then he grinned. "He's probably pissed that he didn't get a go at that thing."

"Did you see how fast he went flying past us?! He's probably badly injured!" Yuusuke's grin disappeared. Kurama reverted to his human form and brushed past the ningen. "We have to find him." The fox disappeared into the forest.

Yuusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other. Kuwabara shrugged and they set out after Kurama at a run.

They didn't have to go very far to find him. They soon came to a large boulder. A wide smear of blood ran down it. Hiei was slumped against the rock, the white starburst in his hair stained crimson with blood.

Kurama ran to him, dropping to his knees and desperately feeling for a pulse. _Don't be dead! Oh, Inari, please don't be dead._ He sighed in relief as he found one. It was very weak, but it was a pulse.

"Kurama?" Yuusuke touched Kurama's shoulder. Kurama glanced at the ningen's concerned face. "Is he . . ." he trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Kurama smiled weakly. "He's alive . . . barely. We need Yukina. Fast."

Kuwabara walked forward. "I guess I'll have to carry him." He was trying to sound annoyed, but his worry was evident.

Kurama blocked him. "We can't move him! He has a head injury, and he might have spinal injuries. We have to get Yukina _here_!" Kurama checked Hiei's pulse again. It was slowing. "We don't have very long . . ." Kurama whispered. "He's dying."

Yuusuke cursed rather colorfully. "Where's Botan when you need her?!"

"Yuusuke!" a very familiar voice called from above them.

Yuusuke looked up. "Oi! Botan, you have to go get Yukina!"

Botan shot him an odd look. "Why?"

Yuusuke scowled. "Hiei's hurt, you ditz!"

"_Nani_?! The ferrygirl floated closer, peering at the unconscious fire demon. "Hai!" she cried, her face turning white as she seemed to see something the others could not. "I'll get Yukina-chan right away!" She disappeared, moving at the speed of sound.

Yuusuke winced at the sonic boom. "I wish she wouldn't do that!"

Kurama said nothing, continuing to check Hiei's pulse. He hadn't liked the frightened, urgent look that had passed over Botan's face when she had looked at Hiei's still form. Gently, he brushed a lock of hair from the fire demon's face. _Hold on, Hiei! Help is coming!_

* * *

*sigh* Once again, I'm torturing Hiei. I've got two more chapters to type up (I've got them on my calculator), then I'll post them. Enjoy!

This chapter has been slightly reformatted and revised. 9/23/2002

Thank you, Tenchi, for catching that. I know how to spell Botan's name, but for some reason I always type it wrong. -.-;;


	2. Chapter Two

Memory Prime

By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Two_  
Botan sped through the Ningenkai toward Genkai's temple, cursing herself. _If only I'd gotten that new oar instead of a makeover last paycheck . . ._

Finally, she reached the temple. Yukina was outside in the garden. Boton landed in front of her. "Yukina-chan!"

Yukina smiled. "Botan-chan, konnichi wa!" The Koorime frowned as she saw the anxious look on the ferrygirl's face. "What's wrong?"

"You have to come with me, Yukina-chan!"

Yukina blinked. "Why?"

"The boys went on another mission. Something went wrong and Hiei was badly injured. They can't move him. I think . . . I think he's _dying_!"

Yukina gasped. "Oh, no!" She jumped up. "Let's go!"

Botan pulled her up onto the oar and sped off. _Please don't let him die! I don't want to ferry one of my friends!_

* * *

Yuusuke sat beside Kurama. "How bad is it?"

Kurama sighed. "We need Yukina, Yuusuke. He's _dying_ . . ."

Hiei's breath caught, pausing for a few moments before resuming, slower and more labored than it had been.

A cold chill came over Yuusuke as Kurama spoke again. "He hasn't finished his parole yet. If he dies, his soul will be sent to the Reikai prison to carry out the sentence that he would have been given."

Kuwabara spoke hesitantly. "What was his original sentence?"

Kurama paused, swallowing hard. "Two millennia. Then he'll be reincarnated without any memory of his past lives." The fox looked away. "We'll never see him again."

Yuusuke growled. "Koenma wouldn't do that! Hiei's saved his sorry ass too many times!"

Kurama shook his head sadly. "Yuusuke, Hiei's just a felon to Koenma, and to Enma. They won't help him, no matter how much he's done."

Yuusuke frowned. Kuwabara stared in shock. "N-nani?! He's saved our lives more than once! And without him, Koenma would have melted in that damn volcano! We never would've gotten there in time! He's risked his life for us more than once. And he didn't have to . . ." The ningen scowled. "If Koenma pulls something like that, I quit! Enma and his prissy little son can go demon-hunting on their own!"

Yuusuke nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I don't owe him shit if he does that!"

Kurama smiled weakly. "I'd join in your boycott, but I'm in the same position as Hiei. I'm still on parole too . . ."

They fell silent, the only sound being Hiei's labored breathing. Suddenly, there was total silence. The three looked at Hiei, waiting for him to start breathing again. It didn't happen.

Kurama checked for a pulse, then turned to Yuusuke. "His heart stopped . . ." The redhead's voice cracked. "I won't let him die!"

Kuwabara stared in shock as Kurama's ki flared. A second later, Hiei took a tentative breath. _Kurama's using his ki to keep Hiei alive!_ The ningen put a hand on Kurama's shoulder, giving him extra ki. Kurama didn't acknowledge him.

Yuusuke watched, confused for a few seconds until he noticed that Hiei was breathing again. He poked Kuwabara. "Take some ki from me too." _I hope we can sustain him 'til Boton gets back._

Kuwabara nodded, taking Yuusuke's hand. The black-haired ningen felt his ki begin to drain away at an alarming rate. _Dammit! This better work! Hurry up Boton! We can't keep this up forever!_

After a few minutes, Yuusuke began to feel lightheaded. He could see Kurama shaking with the effort of keeping Hiei alive. _We can't do it . . ._ "Kurama, it's over. We're almost out of ki."

Kurama glared at Yuusuke. The ningen was shocked to see that the redhead was crying. "Give up if you want! I won't let him die!"

Kuwabara shook his head in amazement. "He's using his _lifeforce_!"

Yuusuke shook Kurama. "_What_?! You'll die too!"

Kurama didn't even look up. "If he's imprisoned, at least he won't be alone."

Suddenly, a sonic boom sounded. Yuusuke sighed in relief. "Botan."

The ferrygirl landed. Yukina jumped off and ran to Hiei's side. The fire demon's injuries quickly mended as the Koorime used her healing power on him.

Then came the moment of truth as Kurama stopped giving Hiei ki, and they waited with bated breath to see if he could breathe on his own. There was a collective sigh of relief as the little Jaganshi continued to breathe without their help.

Kurama sagged against the boulder, exhausted. _He's alive . . ._

Yuusuke helped the fox up. "You okay?" Kurama nodded. The black-haired ningen looked away. "Look, Kurama, I'm sorry about . . ." He trailed off.

"Don't worry about it, Yuusuke. I understand."

Yukina looked at them. "How did Hiei-san get so badly hurt?"

Kurama flinched. "He was hit head-on with a full power ki explosion." The redhead frowned. "With a blast of that magnitude and how hard he must have hit this boulder, it's amazing that he wasn't killed instantly."

Yukina looked away. "I'm glad he wasn't," she whispered softly.

Kurama gently lifted Hiei into his arms. "I think we all are." They headed toward Genkai's temple. _I just hope Hiei doesn't have any lasting damage . . ._

* * *

Well, I've finished typing this chapter. Unfortunately, Beseen is having issues, so this won't be going up as soon as I'd hoped. Bear with me. D'ya think they'd pay any attention to a really nasty flame?

This chapter has undergone minor revisions. Evidently, I started this fic about two or three years ago, since I mentioned beseen.com in my AN. That server went under long ago. 9/23/2002


	3. Chapter Three

Memory Prime

By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Three_  
Kurama awoke to find himself on a futon. He sat up, confused. Then he remembered that he'd collapsed before they'd reached the temple. _They must have carried me . . ._ he realized, slightly embarrassed. He had been carrying Hiei, which was stupid considering that he had lost a significant amount of his lifeforce. _I should have let Yuusuke or Kuwabara carry him . . ._

Hiei was asleep on a nearby futon. _He hasn't woken up yet . . ._ If the fire demon had, he would have left.

Kurama rose and sat beside Hiei's futon. He smiled as he saw the totally innocent expression on the fire demon's face, knowing that it would disappear when the youkai woke. Hiei shifted in his sleep, sighing softly.

Kurama watched him sleep, wondering if Hiei would truly be okay. _He his that boulder pretty hard._ The fox fervently hoped that Hiei didn't have brain damage. He didn't know if Yukina's healing power would extend to something as complicated as that. On hindsight, he wasn't sure why he had tried to kill himself to save Hiei. _He's your best friend,_ he chided himself. _Of course you'd do anything to save him._

Hiei shifted again and let out a tired moan, slowly opening his eyes. He frowned, his brow furrowing. "Where . . .?"

Kurama smiled cautiously at him. "We're at Genkai's temple. You were hit pretty hard. You okay?"

Hiei sat up slowly and absently rubbed his forehead. "Hn . . ." Kurama grinned, relieved. The grin disappeared as the fire demon looked at him blankly. "Who are you?"

* * *

"Hiei's lost _what_?!"

Kurama sighed. The exclamation had come from both Yuusuke and Kuwabara, which would have been funny in any other situation. "He lost his memory."

Kuwabara sputtered some more, looking and sounding extremely stupid. Shizaru whacked him. "Shut up, baka!"

Botan's brow furrowed. "How bad . . .?"

Kurama looked away. "I had to tell him what his own name was." The redhead's voice cracked. "He remembers _nothing_."

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a moment. Then Botan spoke. "It's all my fault! I was too slow!"

Kurama looked up. "It's no one's fault. It was an accident. At least he's alive."

Yukina spoke up. "Kurama-kun is right. The best thing we can do now is be patient and help Hiei-san however we can." She sighed, frowning unhappily. "I'm just sorry that I can't heal this . . ."

Kurama turned as a floorboard creaked behind him. Hiei stood in the doorway. The boy looked at the redhead. "Kurama-san, who are all these people?" The fire demon's voice was small and uncertain, and everyone fell silent.

The fox smiled reassuringly at Hiei. "Come in and I'll introduce you." The fire demon stepped in timidly.

Keiko stepped forward and smiled at Hiei. The fire demon too a small step back, moving closer to Kurama. "I'm Keiko-chan," she said perkily.

Yuusuke nodded. "Yuusuke."

Kuwabara looked at his feet, scowling. "Kuwabara."

Shizuru smiled slightly. "Oi. I'm Shizaru."

Yukina smiled at Hiei timidly and bowed. "I'm Yukina, Hiei-san."

Botan smiled, though she looked like she wanted to cry. "I'm Botan."

Hiei only nodded, looking very overwhelmed and a bit frightened.

Yukina smiled reassuringly at him. "Are you hungry Hiei-san?" Hiei glanced at Kurama briefly, then nodded. The Koorime beamed at him. "Follow me and I'll fix you something."

Hiei looked up at Kurama, his eyes uncertain. Kurama smiled. "Go on. It's okay." His voice was gentle, like a parent to a child. The boy hesitated for a moment, then followed Yukina from the room.

When they were gone, Yuusuke looked at Kurama. "He seems to trust you."

Kurama shrugged. "I'm the first person he saw. He's a bit shy."

Kuwabara stared. "Hiei?! Shy?!"

Kurama flinched. "Yes, shy. He doesn't know anyone and he's not the same person without his memory." Kurama sighed. "He may never regain his memory. Only time will tell . . ."

* * *

Hiei watched silently as Yukina fixed him something to eat. After a while, he spoke, his voice uncertain and shy. "Your name is Yukina-chan?"

"Hai." The girl set a plate in front of Hiei, smiling reassuringly. Hiei smiled back hesitantly. "Go ahead and eat."

Hiei nodded and began to eat slowly. After a moment, he looked up shyly. "It's very good, Yukina-chan. Arigato." He continued eating.

Yukina took his plate when he was finished. "Would you like some sweet snow?" she asked, using his term for it.

The fire demon stared at her blankly. "'Sweet snow'?"

Yukina's heart sank. "That's what you used to call ice cream."

Hiei flinched and looked away, his cheeks flushing. "Gomen," he whispered.

The Koorime put a bowl of ice cream in front of him, sitting beside him with her own. "It's okay, Hiei-san."

Hiei glanced at her. "I . . . recognize you, like I recognized Kurama, but I don't recognize anyone else and I don't know who either of you are . . ." The boy looked away. "I don't even know who _I_ am . . ."

Yukina touched the fire demon's shoulder. "Would you like me to tell you who you are to me?" Hiei hesitated, then nodded. "To me, you're like an older brother. You've always been there for me, and you're the strongest person I know."

Hiei refused to look up. "I . . . I don't remember. G-gomen . . ."

Yukina gently touched his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Your memory will come back in time."

Hiei was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked at Yukina warily. "Yukina-chan? Would you . . . be my sister?" He looked away. "I mean, if you want to . . . You know, until I remember everything . . .?"

To the boy's surprise, Yukina hugged him tightly. "Of course I'll be your sister. As long as you'll be my brother."

"Hai." He returned the hug gratefully, not understanding why he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart.

The door to the kitchen slid open and Hiei let go of his new sister. "Hello, Kazuma-san," Yukina said to the orange-haired man that walked in. "Are you hungry?"

The man nodded, smiling kindly at the Koorime. Hiei shifted uncomfortably as, as soon as Yukina turned around, the man glared at him. Hiei realized that the man hated him. The boy left the table quickly and retreated from the room.

Yukina turned in time to see Hiei disappear. "Hiei-san? He didn't even finish his ice cream . . ." She looked at Kuwabara, who had since wiped the nasty look from his face, confused. "Why did he leave?"

Kuwabara shrugged. "Dunno."

Yukina sighed softly, wondering to herself why Hiei had left so suddenly.

* * *

Hiei wandered around the temple, avoiding people. After a while he came upon a large room containing a huge statue sitting in a niche in the wall. The fire demon crawled behind the statue, wondering what he had done to make the man who had introduced himself as Kuwabara hate him. Eventually, Hiei fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

Gee, I make Kuwabara come off as a real jerk. Oh, darn...Anyhoo, I'd best get typing again. Ja!

This chapter has been revised and reformatted. 9/23/2002


	4. Chapter Four

Memory Prime

By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Four_  
Yukina looked up as Kurama entered the kitchen. "Hello, Kurama-san."

Kurama sighed. "Have you two seen Hiei?"

Yukina frowned. "He left here over an hour ago. I thought he went to find you."

"Then he's missing." Kurama sighed again. "Nobody else has seen him either. Could you help me find him?"

"Of course!" Yukina exclaimed. She rushed from the room. Kuwabara rose and followed her.

* * *

Keiko rushed toward Kurama as the fox moved through the darkening forest. The redhead had been extremely worried when Hiei had disappeared, especially since he couldn't feel his friend's ki signature. According to him, the fire demon had many enemies who would take advantage of his missing memory to kill him. He had gotten more frantic with every hour that Hiei was gone, and that had scared Keiko. "Kurama-kun! I found him!"

"Where?" Kurama followed her back to the temple and into the shrine room.

The girl pointed at the statue. "He's behind it, sleeping. I didn't want to frighten him," she whispered.

"Arigato, Keiko. Could you find the others and tell them that they can stop looking?" Keiko nodded and disappeared. Kurama carefully crawled behind the statue, finally reaching Hiei. The fox gently shook his friend.

Hiei opened his crimson eyes tiredly. "K'rama?"

The fox swept Hiei into a tight embrace. "Gods, Hiei! I've been looking for you for _hours_! I was so worried!" Kurama pushed away the fear that he had felt when he couldn't feel the fire demon's ki. He had thought that one of Hiei's enemies had captured him. He had been terrified that they would find Hiei dead.

Hiei lowered his head. "Gomen . . ."

"Don't worry about it. Come on." Kurama helped the fire demon out of the small space. "Are you hungry?" Hiei nodded. "Let's get you something to eat then." He took the fire demon's hand and led him to the kitchen.

Hiei watched silently as Kurama fixed him a sandwich. "Arigatou," he whispered as the redhead served him.

Kurama smiled. "You're welcome." He sat across from Hiei. "Why were you hiding?" The fire demon avoided the fox's eyes and shrugged. Kurama sighed. "Never mind."

The door to the kitchen slid open to reveal Yukina. The girl rushed to Hiei and embraced him tightly. Kurama could see that she had been having the same thoughts as him. "I was so worried! Where _were_ you?!"

The fire demon looked at Kurama uncertainly. The fox answered for him. "Keiko found him in the shrine room, asleep."

Yukina smiled at the fire demon. "Are you tired? I can fix up a bed fore you if you want."

Hiei looked away, nodding. A strange thought popped into his head. _A real bed? I've never slept in one before . . ._ He kept it to himself.

Yukina jumped up. "I'll go make you a bed. Be right back." She left the room.

Kurama smiled at Hiei. "Eat."

As the fire demon was finishing his sandwich, the door slid open to reveal a soaked, disgruntled-looking Kuwabara. The orange-haired ningen glared at Hiei. "So you were hiding here all along, shrimp?! I shoulda known you'd do something like that!" Hiei flinched and stopped eating. "Where were you?!"

Kurama glared at Kuwabara. "He got lost and fell asleep! Why don't you leave him alone?!"

Kuwabara glared at the redhead. "I wasn't talking to you! Besides, I bet he's faking the whole thing just to get some attention from Yukina!"

Hiei disappeared. Kurama stood, shaking with fury. "How dare you accuse him of such a thing!" The fox brushed past the stupid ningen. "Now I have to find him again!"

Kurama nearly bumped into Yukina as he stalked from the kitchen. "Oh, gomen, Kurama-kun." She looked past him into the kitchen. "Hello, Kazuma-san." She frowned. "Where's Hiei-oniisan?"

"Kuwabara upset him and he lef-" The fox did a double take. "D-did you just call Hiei your oniisan?"

Yukina nodded with a happy smile. "He asked if I would be his sister until he got his memory back." She frowned again. "What happened to upset him?"

Kurama glared at Kuwabara. "Ask _him_ what he did. I need to find Hiei." The fox stalked off. He was soon stopped by Yuusuke.

"Oi! Keiko told me she found him. Where is he?"

Kurama scowled. "Missing again. Kuwabara upset him." He frowned. "And that's probably why he hid the first time!"

Yuusuke scowled. "What'd the moron say?"

Kurama sighed. "Kuwabara said he was probably faking amnesia to get closer to Yukina."

"What?!" Yuusuke yelled. "Where is that moron?! I'm going to _kill_ him!"

Kurama smiled humorlessly. "I left him by the kitchen to explain himself to Yukina."

Yuusuke nodded. "If you hear him screaming, ignore it." The boy disappeared.

Kurama entered the shrine room, fervently hoping that Hiei was there. He crawled behind the statue to find the fire demon curled in a ball. The fox gently touched the boy's shoulder. Hiei flinched and scooted away. "Don't touch me," he whispered.

"Hiei, it's me." The fox flinched as the fire demon looked up, his face tearstained. "Oh, Hiei," Kurama whispered, pulling his friend into a hug and brushing away his tears. "I'm sorry."

The boy trembled against him. "I...I don't like it here..."

Kurama sighed. "Would you like to leave?"

"Hn." The fire demon shrugged, pulling away from the fox.

"If you want to leave, you can stay at my apartment with me." Kurama smiled at his friend reassuringly. "Away from Kuwabara."

Hiei frowned deeply. "Why does he hate me? I don't understand . . ."

Kurama sighed. "You two have always argued. You're actually friends-" _kind of_ "-and he's used to you insulting him back. He's just acting stupid right now."

Hiei was silent for a moment, considering Kurama's words. Finally, he looked up. "Can we leave now?"

"Let's say goodbye to Yukina-chan first, ne?" The fox helped Hiei from behind the statue. Suddenly he remembered something and looked at Hiei. "Hold on. I'll be right back." He crawled back behind the statue, running his hands across the floor to find Hiei's tear gems. It wouldn't do for Yukina to find them the next time she cleaned back there. He frowned as his fingers felt only wet drops. Realization hit him and he cursed softly and backed out of the space.

Hiei blinked at him, somehow noticing the fox's worry. "What's wrong?"

Kurama smiled at him. "Nothing, Hiei. I need to speak to Boton and Yuusuke for a little while. You can talk to Yukina while I'm talking to them, okay?" Hiei nodded and followed him from the shrine room.

Hiei shuddered an moved closer to Kurama as they heard loud shouting. "Demo, Urameshi-"

"No buts, you asshole! You _know_ that's not true! You had _no_ right to say something so stupid!" The two rounded the corner just in time to see Kuwabara get KOed by Yuusuke. The raven-haired ningen grinned at them. "Yo." Hiei backed away as Yuusuke approached. "Oi, Hiei. You okay?"

Hiei glanced toward Kuwabara, who was lying spread-eagle on the ground, his eyes spiraled out. "Why did you do that?"

Yuusuke frowned. "He had no right to say what he said to you. We were all afraid that you weren't going to make it when you got injured. He's just jealous that you're getting all the attention from Yukina. Don't worry about it." Hiei still looked worried, and Yuusuke chuckled. "I've beaten him up worse for doing less. He should've learned not to be a dolt by now." Hiei smiled slightly at that.

Kurama looked grateful. "Yuusuke, where's Yukina?"

Yuusuke blinked. "Well, she was yelling at Kuwabara when I got here, so I waited until she was done before kicking his ass. You might try her room."

"Arigato. Yuusuke, I need to speak to you and Botan."

Yuusuke shrugged. "Okay." He took a deep breath. "_Oi! Botan-chan!_" Hiei winced as the loud shout hurt his ears.

Botan ran into the room. "Nani, Yuusuke? Oh! You found Hiei? That's great!" She smiled at Hiei, who looked uncomfortable.

"Kurama needed to talk to us."

Kurama smiled. "Hai. I'm taking Hiei to my apartment. It's calmer there."

"And Kuwabara's not there," Yuusuke added with a scowl.

Kurama motioned for them to follow him and led Hiei to Yukina's room. The fox knocked on the door. Yukina-chan, it's Kurama. Can Hiei and I come in?" The door opened and Yukina appeared, her face tearstained. "Yukina, I'm going to take Hiei home with me. Did you want to speak to him before we leave?"

Yukina looked at the youko for a second, confused, before understanding. "Hai, Kurama-kun. Come in, Hiei."

Kurama turned to Yuusuke and Botan and led them into another room. "We have a problem." The fox sighed. "Remember how we couldn't sense Hiei's ki when we were looking for him?" Yuusuke and Botan both frowned and nodded. "It's because he can't use his ki for some reason. He can't even access it."

Yuusuke frowned. "What makes you think that? He's a youkai, so he _always_ uses ki!"

Kurama sighed again. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but when Hiei gets injured in the Makai, he comes to me. One time he was poisoned. Rare poison, and the antidote caused hallucinations. He must have been hallucinating about something really horrible, because he cried this." The fox showed them a perfect ebony tear gem. "The fever broke soon afterward, and he remembered nothing about the hallucinations, and I didn't tell him either."

Yuusuke glared at him. "So? What's that got to do with anything?"

"When I found him just now, he was crying. I was going to gather the tear gems so Yukina wouldn't find them, but there were none. He cried _liquid_ tears! That means his natural, ancestral ki is gone."

Yuusuke shrugged. "So?"

Kurama glared at him. "First of all, if he opens his Jagan, he'll die, so we have to keep it warded. But Hiei has a lot of enemies who would take advantage of this to kill him, and he's as helpless as a ningen at the moment . . ." The fox trailed off meaningfully.

Botan paled. "I'll have Koenma strengthen the barriers." She hurried from the room.

Yuusuke watched her leave, then turned to Kurama. "So what're we going to do?"

Kurama shook his head. "Hiei doesn't want to stay here. He's surrounded by people he doesn't know here. Kuwabara's been an ass to him. You basically radiate power, so of course he's nervous around you. He knows Keiko and Botan's names, but that's about it. Genkai-"

"Sunakaki baba!" Yuusuke interrupted, grinning idiotically.

Kurama smirked, but ignored the comment. "He's only talked to Yukina and me." Kurama sighed. "And I promised to take him. I'm going to take him to my apartment, at least for the night.

Yuusuke nodded, now serious. "I'll keep watch nearby. Botan can help when she gets back."

* * *

*sighs* I really need to concentrate solely on one fic at a time...Oh well.

This fic has been reformatted and revised. 9/23/2002


	5. Chapter Five

Memory Prime By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Five_  
Kurama smiled as Hiei looked around his apartment with almost child-like curiosity. "You've been here before, many times, but you wouldn't remember." He flinched as the sanjiyan looked at him with a hurt look. "Gomen . . ."

Hiei sighed softly, shrugging. "I know what you meant. This place is . . . familiar . . ." He sighed. "I wish I had my memories . . ." He sat in the chair opposite of Kurama and looked at him, his innocent crimson eyes piercing the fox. "Would I _want_ to remember, or am I better off without my memories?"

The fox winced inwardly. _How can I answer a question like that . . .?_ Hiei watched him expectantly, waiting for an answer. "I don't know, Hiei. No one likes every second of their lives. But your memories make you who you are . . ."

The fire demon looked away. "Then I'm nobody."

Kurama stared at him. "No! You're very important!" _At least . . . to me . . ._ "I'm just not sure if it'd be safe for you to stay without your memories . . . you have a lot of people who have grudges against you. Some who would even want you dead. If you don't remember them, how can you protect yourself?"

Hiei looked at Kurama, and the fox flinched as he saw the inner pain in the boy's face. "Am I that horrible of a person to have so many enemies . . .?"

Kurama shook his head. "Most of them hate you for something you have no control over. Others you just crossed accidentally, in an effort to survive. I don't know all of your past, but I know that you eventually stopped caring who you hurt. Then you changed when you came to the Ningenkai. You don't try to hurt people for the hell of it anymore. But I don't know you completely. You usually hide behind a mask."

"I don't understand . . ." Hiei whispered. "You're saying that I'm a bad person, but it's not my fault . . .?"

"Yes . . . no . . . I don't know!" The fox threw his hands up in frustration. "Hiei, you don't talk much to anybody, not even me usually, so I don't know you're whole past. Most of it I know from rumors and pieced together facts and things you've said. But I don't blame you for hiding behind a mask. I was once the same way until I came to the Ningenkai. But sometimes I wish you'd take that mask off and talk to me." Kurama looked at the clock. "Look, Hiei, it's midnight. How about we get some rest and we can start trying to get your memory back tomorrow?"

Hiei looked at him for a moment, remaining silent. Then he nodded. "Okay . . . But what if I don't want to get my memory back?"

Kurama froze, his smile fading. _Hiei without his memory..? Then he wouldn't be Hiei . . . Not the Hiei I . . ._ He stopped the thought and forced himself to smile at the boy in front of him. "Why don't you sleep on it?"

The boy nodded tiredly. "Okay, Kurama."

The fox led Hiei into the bedroom and handed him a t-shirt, leaving the boy alone briefly to change. He grinned as he re-entered the room. The shirt was so long on Hiei that it reached the middle of his calves. The sleeves nearly reached his wrists. And the neckline was nearly slipping off his shoulders, revealing the fire demon's sexy, well-muscled chest. _Down, youko!_ "I'll tuck you in." It was rather obvious that the fox couldn't sleep with Hiei. His youko half was too aroused by the sight of Hiei in that shirt. Kurama covered Hiei with a blanket gently.

He was about to turn around when Hiei called his name. "Kurama?" The fox smiled at him. The fire demon touched the bandages on his forehead and arm. "Why do I have these on? Am I hurt?"

Kurama sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Those aren't bandages, Hiei. They're wards. The one on your forehead keeps your third eye shut. You mustn't remove it right now or it will kill you. The other one holds the kokoryuha. The same goes for that one. Do you understand?" Hiei nodded, his brow furrowed worriedly. Kurama smiled. "Don't worry. Nothing can happen as long as you keep the wards on. Go to sleep." The fox rose and turned off the light. "Goodnight, Hiei. Sleep well."

"G'night K'rama." Kurama smiled as he realized that his friend was already mostly asleep. He curled up on the comfortable chair he had in the room and extended his ki to scan the area for signs of youki and alert him if any came into the area. That alarm set up, the fox fell asleep.

* * *

Hiei awoke early the next morning, before Kurama. He lay there, gazing at the ceiling, thinking. The look the redhead had given him the night before when he had commented on possibly not wanting his memory back crossed his mind. The look had been one of fear...Kurama _wanted_ Hiei's memory to return. The only question left was...why? The boy was jerked out of his reverie as Kurama moaned in his sleep, having a nightmare.

He got up to wake the redhead, but stopped cold as Kurama whispered Hiei's name in his sleep. "Hiei, please don't leave me . . . Don't die . . . Please don't die. Ai . . . Ai shiteru, Hiei . . . No . . . Onegai! Wake up! Matte . . . onegai . . . Hiei . . ." The redhead trailed off with an agonized sob. Hiei unfroze, swallowing hard as he realized that he had his answer. He shook Kurama, waking him. "Kurama? You were having a nightmare."

The redhead slid to the floor, breathing heavily. Then he looked up sharply. "Did I say anything?"

Hiei kept his face blank and lied. "No. You were just moving around a lot . . . and making weird noises . . ."

Kurama nodded, looking relieved. Then he smiled at Hiei. "How about some breakfast." He left the room, not waiting for Hiei's answer, and headed toward the kitchen. The fire demon stayed still for a few seconds before following him. He watched as the redhead quickly cooked a delicious meal of fish, vegetables, and ramen. When they were finished, Kurama smiled at him. "We need to go to Genkai's again. Botan may have come up with a way to get your memory back . . . You _do_ want it back . . . ne?"

Hiei searched Kurama's face. The redhead was concealing his emotions well, but his eyes gave him away. He was afraid . . . no, terrified of the possibility of losing the Hiei that he knew . . . and loved . . . _Did I love him too? Or was I a cold-hearted bastard . . .?_ Finally, the fire demon nodded. "I think so . . ." He watched as relief flooded Kurama's eyes. "Will . . . will Botan know what to do . . .?"

Hiei winced inwardly as the fearful look returned to the green eyes. "I . . . I don't know . . ." He watched as those eyes hardened with steely resolve. "But we'll find out. Let's get dressed and jet, ne?"

* * *

Kurama sighed as they walked toward Genkai's temple. Hiei had been acting strange since they had woken up, and the fox wasn't sure why. He smiled suddenly. Maybe Hiei had begun to get his memory back. He was acting _semi_-normal . . . at least for him.

"There are a lot of steps," Hiei commented after a while.

"Hai." The fox grinned, his green eyes twinkling with amusement. "But you usually don't use them."

Hiei glanced at him, his crimson eyes confused. "How else would I get up there . . .?"

Kurama chuckled softly. "You jump from tree to tree. You're very good at that. And very fast." Hiei frowned and nodded. They continued in silence.

They had almost reached the top of the stairs when Kurama sensed it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he realized that there was an unknown youkai headed toward them. _K'so! Why doesn't the kekkai ever work?!_ He shoved Hiei behind him and called his Rose Whip. Then he yelled. "_Yuuuusuke!!_" He had no more time to yell as the youkai he had sensed appeared.

The ten-foot, tentacled S-class leered down at him. "Give us the Forbidden One and you may live." More youkai jumped from the forest.

Kurama shoved Hiei further behind him. "Never!"

The original S-class clucked at him and attacked. Kurama dodged, pulling Hiei with him, then lashed out with his Rose Whip. The demon _caught_ it and smirked at him, then yanked as hard as it could. Kurama, unprepared for the move, was yanked forward, leaving Hiei unprotected. "Hiei! Run!"

The fire demon looked at him, wide-eyed, then turned to run up the steps. Too late, the other demons grabbed him, laughing as they roughed him up. Hiei struggled, looking at Kurama with terror-filled eyes. "Kurama!"

Kurama stopped as the demons threatened the boy, looking into Hiei's eyes. The fire demon's eyes warned him, too late to duck as a tentacle lashed out. The redhead went crashing into a tree. The last thing he saw as his vision blurred was Hiei's terrified face, calling his name.

Then everything went dark.

* * *

Kurama awoke with a start, sitting up quickly. He regretted the action immediately as he gained a splitting headache. "Kurama, what happened?" Yuusuke's voice reached him.

The fox waited for his eyes to focus. "We were attacked on our way here. By a bunch of S-classes." Kurama's eyes widened. "They have Hiei! We have to go after them!"

Yuusuke sighed, looking at Kuwabara, then at Keiko, who was holding a worried-looking Yukina. "Kurama . . . What are the chances that Hiei is alive?"

Kurama looked away, swallowing hard. "Very good, actually . . . They wanted him alive." He looked up to see Yukina staring at him in horror, knowing exactly what that meant. "And in the Makai, that isn't necessarily a good thing. In fact, it's probably worse than death . . ."

Yuusuke looked at the floor, rage glittering in his brown eyes, understanding Kurama's meaning immediately. Yukina sobbed, Keiko quickly joining her in the action as she realized what Kurama meant. Kuwabara's eyes widened slightly. "What exactly do you mean?" he whispered, not sure if he wanted to know.

Kurama didn't look at him. "It means that Hiei has probably been . . . used . . ."

Kuwabara stared at him for a full minute before what he meant sank in. "_Nani_?! But . . . that's . . ." He trailed off. After a few moments, he spoke again, his voice very quiet. "I agree with Kurama. We have to go after him."

Yuusuke got to his feet slowly, death written in his features. "You said they were S-class demons?" Kurama nodded bleakly. Raizen's heir nodded. "That means we'll have to sneak in and out quietly, if possible." The boy looked up, and the others all took involuntary steps back at the pure rage in his eyes. "Kurama, when we reach them, you're going to go youko and get him while we cause some chaos." He stalked toward the door.

"Matte . . . Yuusuke. There's another thing you should know . . ." Yuusuke stopped and looked at Kurama. "I think I know why Hiei was targeted."

Yuusuke turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. "Go on."

Kurama sighed. "He was working on something for Mukuro. Someone found a way to cloak S-class signatures to make them look like A-class signatures. That may have been the group that attacked us."

"So they took him because of a stupid investigation?!" Yuusuke's eyes flashed dangerously. "They're dead."

Keiko braved his look and touched his shoulder. "Yuusuke . . . be careful . . . Don't do anything stupid."

Yuusuke glared at her, pulling out of her grasp. He looked at Kurama. "Let's go before they hurt him." He stalked out the door, Kuwabara following closely.

_We're already too late to prevent that,_ Kurama thought as he rose and hurried after Yuusuke and Kuwabara. _I just hope we get there before they get tired of him and decide to kill him . . . _

* * *

I couldn't help it. I made it yaoi. And angst. ::sighs:: And to think I was going to make this one kind of nice . . . Oh well! Things don't always go as planned . . . probably 'cuz I don't plan much . . .

This chapter has been reformatted and revised. 9/23/2002


	6. Chapter Six

Memory Prime

By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Six_  
Kurama cautiously peeked over the boulder, his silver ears flat against his head. The camp was only just stirring, and he allowed one ear to perk up, listening intently as he scanned the area. Youkai were scattered about, some sleeping, others walking around groggily, the victims of severe hangovers. In the center of the camp was a large extravagant tent which would only house the leader. A prisoner would not be kept there. The fox continued to scan the camp until he saw another tent at the edge of the camp, much smaller than the first and nearly unnoticeable. Just inside the entrance stood a single guard, looking alert and thoroughly contented with his position. _Hiei . . ._

The silver-haired youko ducked back down, struggling unsuccessfully to keep the rage and sorrow from his face. Kuwabara's fist tightened and as he muttered threats under his breath.

Yuusuke growled softly, then spoke, his voice tight between his clenched teeth. "We have work to do. Kurama, you get Hiei while I create a distraction. Kuwabara, you stay here. If we fail, we need you to get backup."

Kurama nodded in agreement. "If we fail, get Mukuro." Kuwabara scowled, obviously annoyed that he was only backup, but nodded.

Yuusuke jumped up, satisfied with the plan, and ran into the camp without warning, yelling insults and blowing up random youkai.

Kurama shook his head, sighing, and skirted around the camp, headed toward the tiny tent. His progress went unnoticed as the youkai rushed to attack the raging son of Raizen. The fox stepped into the tent noiselessly, easily slaying the guard. He froze as he saw his friend. Hiei laid sprawled facedown in an odd position on the ground. His hands were bound with wire to the tent's center pole in such a way that his upper body was painfully suspended a few inches from the ground. The sanjiyan's clothing hung from his body in tatters, concealing few of his injuries.

As Kurama moved closer, he saw the other reason for Hiei's unnatural position. The fire demon's right hip was dislocated. So even if he had managed to unbind his hands and kill the guard, he couldn't have escaped. The youko cursed colorfully under his breath at the creatures that had hurt his friend. Then he gently unwound the wire from around Hiei's wrists, wincing at the deep slices the wire had caused. Once the wire was removed, he turned the fire demon over and lowered him carefully to the ground. Kurama winced as he saw Hiei's face, which had obviously been struck repeatedly. One of the youkai's eyes was swollen shut, and the right side of his jaw was twice the size it should have been. Hiei moaned slightly, his unswollen eye fluttering open, glassy and unfocused.

"I'm here, Hiei. It's Kurama. I'm going to get you out of here." He flinched as a tear slid down the fire demon's cheek, crystallizing and falling to the ground. The fox's eyes widened. _His memory..._ Hiei shuddered and let out a strangled whimper, then passed out. _Hiei . . ._ The youko grabbed the tear gem and shoved it into a pocket, then quickly removed his unblemished white tunic and wrapped the unconscious Jaganshi in it, not caring that the garment was becoming stained with blood.

He carefully lifted his friend into his arms and cradled him against his chest, holding him as gently as he would a newborn ningen baby. Then he made a discreet exit and took the scenic route back to Kuwabara. He sighed in annoyance as he saw that Yuusuke wasn't back yet. Kuwabara frowned at him. "Is he okay?"

Kurama sighed. "He's alive . . ." Kuwabara's frown deepened. The fox sighed again. "Would _you_ be okay?"

Kuwabara looked away. "No."

A stream of curses with Yuusuke's voice drew near, in what they all knew as his oh-shit-we're-screwed tone. Kurama and Kuwabara looked at each other, then turned and ran, Yuusuke right behind them. "What's wrong?" Kurama asked as they ran.

"Quest class! We have _got_ to get out of here!"

"K'so!" Kurama growled. "My territory is close to here. Follow me!" He turned to the right. "Once we get there, I can slow them down and break them up. The quest class we'll have to deal with when we get to it."

"Kurama, it was a youko," Yuusuke said.

Kurama nearly fell, but caught himself and kept running, Hiei held gently against him. "_What_?!"

"They're shooting at us! Kisamas!" Yuusuke cursed as he dodged a ki blast. "A white youko with a huge scar on his face. Do you know him?"

"Yes." Kurama's voice was nearly a snarl. "He's my father."

Kuwabara and Yuusuke looked at each other in shock, then jumped to avoid another ki blast. "Y-your father?"

"Yes, my father," the fox snapped, nimblely flipping over another ki blast. "I'm the one who _gave_ him that scar. Hurry up. If he catches us before we reach my territory, we're as good as dead, so cut the chatter and concentrate on running. We have a kilometer to go before we get there."

They ran through the forest at full tilt, dodging through the foliage and ki blasts. Gradually, the foliage thickened, slowing them down slightly. Fortunately, it also slowed their pursuers down as well. Suddenly the forest seemed to close around them, but a path opened before them as they ran, the plants parting for them.

"We're in my territory," Kurama stated. "They will have complications in following us now." His eyes glowed silver for a moment, and agonized screams rang out behind them, startling Kuwabara and Yuusuke. "Most of them won't reach us." His eyes returned to normal. "But that won't stop Kadyou from reaching us eventually. We'll have to fight him."

Yuusuke swallowed hard as more screams rang out, many of them cut short. "W-where are we going?"

Kurama glanced at him. "My old lair." They continued for a few more minutes until they came to a very small clearing in which a stream ran. On the other side of the stream lay the entrance to a cave, which was only seen after the foliage in front of it parted. The fox gently set Hiei down on a soft bed of grass, then turned to Yuusuke and Kuwabara. "Stay there and be quiet." He stalked to the cave entrance and called in. "Youri? Are you in there?"

A shrill voice called back. "Kurama-sama?" A tiny youkai appeared at the entrance. It's head was huge, with huge floppy ears at the sides and large purple eyes. It's fingers were about as long as its forearms. "Youri hear Kurama-sama dead!" the thing squeaked. "Youri glad Kurama-sama not dead. Nothing can hurt Kurama-sama!"

Kurama chuckled a bit. "I was dead, Youri. I'll explain later. Kadyou is stopping by for a visit, and I need those special seeds."

The thing's eyes widened. "Kadyou? Hai! Youri get quickly!" The thing disappeared.

Kurama turned to Yuusuke and Kuwabara. "Youri is my servant. I keep him protected and taken care of in exchange for his service."

Youri appeared at the cave entrance again, carrying a small pouch. "Youri find for Kurama-sama special seeds. Will kill Kadyou?" The creature's voice was hopeful.

"I hope so, Youri. If I don't you might be in danger." Youri noticed Yuusuke and Kuwabara and backed away. "Those are friends, Youri. Come meet them." The little demon stepped forward, hiding behind Kurama's leg in a way that reminded Yuusuke of Hiei when he had first lost his memory. "This is Yuusuke." Yuusuke nodded at the creature in greeting. "This is Kuwabara." Kuwabara grinned.

"Greetings, Kurama-sama's friends, Yuusuke-sama and Kuwabara-sama." Youri looked down at Hiei. "Who this? He hurt!"

Rage showed on Kurama's face. "That's my friend Hiei."

Youri looked at the unconscious fire demon with a sad look on his face. "Kadyou hurt Hiei-sama. Hurt him very, very badly. Kurama-sama very angry?" Kurama nodded. "Kurama-sama want Youri should help Hiei-sama's hurt?" The fox smiled and nodded. The little demon smiled brightly. "Hai, Kurama-sama! Youri help Kurama-sama's friend, Hiei-sama!" The little demon touched Hiei's forehead, and some of Hiei's lesser injuries healed immediately. Youri looked up, his face showing exhaustion from using his ki. "Youri can't help Hiei-sama anymore. Youri tired. Youri sorry, Kurama-sama."

Kurama smiled at him. "Thank you for helping Hiei, Youri. You helped a lot."

Youri smiled widely, looking ecstatic with the praise. "Youri happy! Youri think Kurama-sama's friends thirsty. Youri bring good water." The little demon disappeared into the cave again.

Yuusuke looked at Kurama. "He's weird."

The fox smiled. "He's also very kind-hearted. He used a lot more ki than he should have trying to heal Hiei." Kurama sighed. " I saved Youri from Kadyou a long time ago, so he knows exactly what happened to Hiei. Youri was beaten pretty badly by Kadyou. I'm not sure if he was like this before or if he suffered brain damage from his injuries."

Youri exited the cave, carrying a huge pitcher of water and several goblets. He poured water into each one, offering them to Kurama, Yuusuke, and Kuwabara. Each accepted gratefully. "Kurama-sama want Youri to give friend Hiei-sama water?" Kurama smiled and nodded, and Youri knelt beside the fire demon, gently sitting him up slightly and pouring a bit of water in his mouth and waiting for Hiei to swallow before giving him more.

Kuwabara shifted impatiently. "How long before that bastard shows up?"

Kurama looked up from where he was growing plants from the seeds in the pouch. "Hopefully never, once I send these out after him. Otherwise, who knows? We'll just have to stay alert." Kurama finished growing another plant. "This should be enough. I'll save some for if he actually gets here." The plants slithered into the forest."

"What are those?" Kuwabara asked.

"Special plants that I bred to hunt Kadyou. They're specially attuned to find his ki and destroy him."

Yuusuke frowned. "So you knew about this guy and didn't destroy him before? Like so he wouldn't have gotten to Hiei?"

Kurama sighed sadly. "I've fought Kadyou numerous times. Sometimes I barely escaped with my life, other times he somehow got away before I could kill him. I'd been planning to hit him since a few years before I died. After I died, I figured he wouldn't find me in the Ningenkai, so I continued to plan against him for after my ningen death. If I had known this would happen, I _would_ have hunted him down before."

"What did he do to you?" Yuusuke asked. "I mean, to make you want to kill him."

Kurama looked away. "The same thing he did to Hiei, and to Youri." The fox's fist clenched. "Him hurting Hiei was unforgivable. This time I _will_ destroy him. Once he gets here, even if I die, there is no escape. Not for him. You can all leave, but he'll be stuck here until he dies. The forest will never let him escape."

Youri suddenly piped up. "Youri is very happy that Youri will get to see Kadyou die. Youri has waited a long time to see it." The little demon stood up. "Hiei-sama shaking. Youri get Hiei-sama blanket." Youri entered the cave again.

Kurama hurried to Hiei's side. "Hiei? Are you awake?" There was no response from the fire demon. Kurama sighed, gently moving Hiei into a better position. He quickly popped the youkai's hip back into its socket.

Hiei cried out and struggled, his eyes opening. His crimson eyes were unfocused and glassy, revealing that he was barely conscious.

Kurama gently touched the boy's forehead, wincing as his friend flinched away from the touch. "It's us Hiei. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore."

Hiei trembled and curled closer to Kurama. The fire demon didn't speak a word, and just lay on the ground shivering.

"I know you're cold, Hiei. Youri's bringing a blanket. You're safe now." Kurama ran a hand through Hiei's hair. "We'll get you to Yukina soon. Just hold on."

Hiei relaxed, smiling slightly. "Nmmm . . ." The fire demon's eyes closed as he fell asleep.

Youri ran out with a thick blanket, covering Hiei quickly, making sure that the blanket was tucked around the boy. "Youri bring blanket. Hiei-sama not be cold anymore."

Kurama smiled, standing up. "Thank you, Youri. Could you check for clothing in his size? One made of nice, soft fabric? When you find it, put it near the hot spring, along with some of my good soap and shampoo and a nice soft towel. Also some medicine and bandages for his wounds and the pain."

"Hai, Kurama-sama!" The little youkai disappeared into the cave again.

Kurama turned toward the forest as he felt a familiar and dreaded ki draw near. "Kadyou." The fox's face twisted in an angry sneer. "Come out, you coward!"

A tall white youko emerged from the edge of the forest, sporting a few cuts. "Well, if it isn't Kurama. Your plants were quite cute, but somewhat ineffective, as you can see." Kadyou cast a sidelong glance at Hiei's unconscious form. "The little one was a fun toy. Pretty little virgin. Breaking him in was amusing. He put up quite a fight for such a shrimp. Kind of like you did."

Kuwabara growled at Kadyou's use of his nickname for Hiei. _Only I'm allowed to call the shrimp that. Not some creep like this!_ The ningen's clenched his fist angrily.

Yuusuke was shaking in rage, his aura going wild. _This bastard will pay. With his life AND his soul. I'll make sure Koenma makes him pay!_

Rage filled Kurama. "You'll never get away from here, Kadyou. You're dead!"

The older youko laughed. "I know that. I've known that my death would be by your hand for a long time. I just decided to hurt you as much as possible before you killed me. And I see that hurting your friend has hurt you more than raping you ever would have done. So I die content."

The silver youko glared angrily. "You die slowly and torturously. Such is the fate of my enemies."

Kadyou laughed harshly. "I said that I would die content, not easily. You'll have to kill me in battle, kowappa." The youko smirked. "Of course, if you lose, I'll kill the other ones and keep the little one as my pet."

Kurama glared angrily. Kadyou was right. If he lost, Yuusuke and Kuwabara would try to get revenge no matter what he told them to do. And if they lost . . . Hiei and Youri would be in Kadyou's grasp again, with no one to save them. _I have to beat him . . . no matter what. Even if it means my death!_

* * *

What? You wanted more? It'll come in the next chapter...This chapter was getting too long. If I can get all my homework done, I'll work on the next chapter . . . Two page paper each day . . . Not promising. Look on the bright side. There's always Spring Break. Oh yeah . . . Youri looks kinda like a house elf . . . So if you read Harry Potter, you get the picture.

Sorry for the mess up the first time uploading it . . .

This chapter has been reformatted and revised. 9/23/2002


	7. Chapter Seven

Memory Prime By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Seven_  
Kurama and Kadyou eyed each other warily for a few minutes, each reluctant to make the first move, as though they were afraid to be the first to show weakness of any kind. Finally, Kurama sent out a plant, which Kadyou easily dodged and destroyed. As Kadyou was destroying the plant, Kurama threw razor-sharp blades of grass at him, cutting him. Kadyou just laughed. "You'll have to do better than that, Kowappa[1]."

The silver youko glared at his father. "I said your death would be long and torturous." He unfurled his Rose Whip. "You'll pay for what you did to Hiei!"

Kadyou smirked. "So his name is Hiei? I'd taken to calling him Koppa[2]. Hiei is too strong a name for that runt." The white youko laughed derisively. "Ah, well. When you lose to me, he'll become mine again and I'll choose a new name for him."

Kurama snarled and attacked Kadyou with the Rose Whip and other plants. Kadyou fought back with a grass-blade rapier and katana. Both youkos scored hits.

Yuusuke fumed from where he stood with Kuwabara, his temper inflamed by Kadyou's words, but he suppressed the urge to attack. _Kurama feels guilty for what happened to Hiei. I'll let him get revenge . . ._ The ningen felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to see Youri staring up at him with large eyes. He smiled grimly at the obviously worried youkai. "Yes, Youri?"

"Yuusuke-sama, Hiei-sama shaking. Hiei-sama youki very low. Hiei-sama warded maybe."

"Thank you, Youri." Yuusuke nodded, hurrying to check on his injured friend. Hiei was shaking uncontrollably. Yuusuke checked his ki, frowning. _His ki is very low . . . Wait a second! If he has a ki signature now, then he got his memory back!_

He didn't realize that Kuwabara was watching until the ningen spoke. "What's wrong, Urameshi?"

Yuusuke sighed. "His ki is pretty low, but at least he has a ki signature. That means he has his memory back. Youri thinks he might be warded though, and I agree." He glanced toward Kurama and Kadyou, who were now battling each other fiercely. "And I don't think it can wait until they're done. He's freezing without access to his ki." The ningen checked Hiei for wards, finding one on the back of Hiei's neck. Gently, he turned Hiei over and began to remove the ward with his ki. Hiei suddenly gasped, opening his eyes and struggling. "Hiei, it's Yuusuke. I need to get this ward off you so you can use your ki to warm up." Hiei stopped struggling. Yuusuke finished removing the ward, then wrapped the blanket around his friend.

Kuwabara sighed. "His ki is coming back." Within a few minutes, Hiei was no longer shivering. In fact, both Yuusuke and Kuwabara could feel the heat radiating from the fire demon's battered body. Yuusuke and Kuwabara grinned at each other, relieved. The orange-haired boy sighed in relief. _He's gonna be okay . . ._

Suddenly Kadyou flew into Yuusuke, knocking him over. The white youko kicked Kuwabara, then grabbed Hiei and held a dagger to the Jaganshi's throat. "I win," Kadyou sneered. "One wrong move and he slowly bleeds to death." Kurama, Yuusuke, and Kuwabara froze, looking on helplessly as Kadyou began to fondle Hiei. The fire demon was totally still for a few seconds, frozen by shock and fear. Then he surrounded himself with black Makai fire, causing the shocked Kadyou to scream in pain, drop the dagger, and jump away from his captive. The white youko cursed something about missing wards, then readied himself for attack.

Hiei took a step away from Kadyou, letting the flames dissipate, but his leg folded under him. As Hiei collapsed, Kuwabara jumped forward, catching him and moving him out of danger. The orange-haired ningen rewrapped the blanket around Hiei and lay him on the ground, then turned and watched as Yuusuke and Kurama both attacked Kadyou, intent on destroying him.

The three fought for a few minutes, until Kadyou threw Yuusuke into the middle of the stream and stabbed Kurama in the side with his katana. The silver youko jumped back, holding the wound in his side and parrying with a grass blade as Kadyou pressed forward. A blast of black fire seemed to come out of nowhere, hitting Kadyou head on. Kuwabara turned to see Hiei standing, the blanket sliding down his shoulders. The fire demon tottered precariously, then fell into the soft grass, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Kadyou staggered, then fell to the ground, obviously dead. Kurama called up an acid plant to get rid of the body, then ran to Hiei. He checked the fire demon gently, lifting him into his arms and wincing slightly as he jostled his own wound. The fox looked at Kuwabara and Yuusuke, then turned to Youri. "Please take them to the guest quarters. Give them something to eat. I don't know how long this will take."

Yuusuke frowned at him. "What are you going to do?"

Kurama sighed. "I'm going to clean his wounds. From what I saw, he's pretty badly hurt." He looked at Hiei, frowning. "I don't want his wounds to get infected, and they might if I don't clean them out." _And his wounds are already causing him enough discomfort. Plus . . . his body probably aches horribly. Warm water will ease the pain a bit . . ._

Yuusuke nodded. "Hurry up. I want to get him back to Yukina so she can heal him."

The fox smiled slightly, seeing Yuusuke's worry. "I know. But I don't think he's going to want to be moved for a while. We'll rest here for a day." Kurama left the others and carried Hiei through the cave until they reached the hot springs. The fox smiled as he saw that Youri had done exactly what he had asked. Gently, Kurama set his friend by the water, then stripped and slid into the spring. He washed his own wound out, then gently woke Hiei. The fire demon gasped and struggled. "Hiei. It's me." The boy stopped fighting. "I need to clean out your wounds so they don't get infected."

Hiei nodded, closing his eyes tightly, trembling slightly. Kurama carefully removed the tunic he had wrapped around his friend, then cut off what little remained of the fire demon's clothes. Gently, he lifted the boy and lowered him into the warm water. Hiei hissed as the water made contact with his skin, but didn't struggle.

Kurama gently bathed his friend, trying not to hurt him as he washed his wounds. Hiei flinched as Kurama reached his lower back, letting out an almost inaudible whimper. "Hiei . . . I would never hurt you. I need to clean all your wounds. Just hold on." Hiei buried his face in Kurama's shoulder, trembling as the fox bathed his more sensitive areas.

The fox then gently washed Hiei's hair, massaging his scalp gently. As he was rinsing the soap from his friend's hair, he felt Hiei relax and fall asleep. Kurama smiled. _That was the whole point of washing his hair. I was hoping he would fall asleep._ Holding Hiei with one arm, Kurama unfolded one of the blankets that Youri had brought. He set Hiei on it and used another towel to gently dry the demon off. He then dried himself off, slipped his pants on, and knelt beside his friend. Gently, he spread salve on Hiei's injuries and bandaged the wounds.

Finally, he carefully dressed Hiei in the soft, white garments that Youri had found for him and lifted the fire demon into his arms. Hiei didn't even stir. The fox carried him to another part of the cave and tucked him into the large bed. Hiei looked tiny and pale against the sheets. Kurama brushed a lock of hair from the sanjiyan's face and sighed. _If I'd killed Kadyou before . . . None of this would have happened to Hiei . . ._ He sighed again, then went to find Yuusuke and Kuwabara. He found them eating a small meal that Youri had prepared for them.

Yuusuke looked up. "Is he okay?"

Kurama smiled wanly. "Physically, he'll live. Mentally . . . It's a whole different issue. He was confused and frightened for a few minutes, but he's asleep now. I'm going to make some broth. He'll probably be hungry when he wakes up." Youri handed him a thermos, and Kurama chuckled at the little demon's insight. "Thank you, Youri." The fox grabbed a plate of food and some water. "I'm going to stay with him until he wakes up so he isn't frightened."

He made his way back through the cave to find Hiei tangled in the blankets and struggling in his sleep. The fox quickly set down the food and moved to Hiei, gently waking him. The fire demon struggled for a moment, then relaxed as Kurama spoke reassuring nonsense words to him. The kitsune disentangled the bedding from Hiei and helped his friend sit slightly. "Hiei, I'm sure you're hungry. I brought some broth for you." He held the thermos to Hiei's lips and let him drink it slowly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Hiei."

The fire demon turned his face away from the thermos, not looking at Kurama and not speaking. Kurama flinched, then held the mug of water to his friend's lips. "If I had killed him before . . . If I'd fought better and stopped them from taking you . . ."

Hiei pushed away the mug and looked at Kurama, piercing the fox with his eyes. The fire demon's blood-colored eyes held no blame toward the fox. Kurama trembled and hugged his friend, who stiffened slightly. The kitsune immediately let go of Hiei. "I'm sorry." The fire demon's face was drawn in a look of pain. "Hiei?" Kurama watched as Hiei turned on his side, gasping. Blood had seeped through the bandages and onto his white clothing. "I'll be right back, Hiei."

Kurama ran to the hot spring, grabbed the things he needed, and hurried back to Hiei. He removed the fire demon's shirt and cut off the bandages, wincing as he saw that the deep claw gouges on his friend's back had re-opened. He gently wiped the blood from Hiei's back and reached into his bag of medicinal seeds, searching until he found the right one, which he grew into a plant and broke, squeezing a milky fluid onto the wounds. Hiei hissed as the substance stung. "I'm sorry, Hiei." The bleeding tapered and Kurama wet a cloth and wiped the blood from his friend's back, then spread the painkilling, healing salve onto the wounds. Finally, he rewrapped the fire demon's back in bandages and slipped the shirt back onto his friend.

Hiei turned toward him and curled up next to him, fisting his small fingers in Kurama's tunic. The fire demon's muscles were very tight. Kurama ran his fingers through Hiei's hair, trying to sooth him. At the touch, Hiei curled into an even tighter ball, hiding his face against Kurama's injured side. The fox winced, then whispered soothing words to Hiei, who slowly relaxed as Kurama stroked his hair. Kurama smiled as Hiei's breathing grew deep. "Sleep well, little one." The fox shifted, curling around his friend protectively before falling asleep himself.

* * *

Okay . . . I had to get this out before I go off on Spring Break. I'm leaving in a few hours, and I had to be nice to you guys because I had another two paragraphs to write and this chapter would be done. So I finished it and here it is. Enjoy!

Oh, yeah. [1] Kowappa means brat, and [2] koppa means worthless. Almost forgot about that . . .

This chapter has been reformatted and revised. 9/23/2002


	8. Chapter Eight

Memory Prime By Rose Thorne

~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~

* * *

_Chapter Eight_  
Kurama sighed and shoved his textbook away from him, opting instead to look out his kitchen window. There was no way he could concentrate on work--not when he was this worried. _Speaking of worry . . ._ He vaguely wondered when Hiei was going to come for his nightly visit, then sighed again. It had been over a month since the Kadyou incident, and Hiei was not doing well.

The fire demon had not uttered a word since the incident, remaining silent at all times--no "hn," and not a sound during battle. Kurama winced. _Battle . . ._ They had been forced to go on several missions since they'd returned, and Hiei had silently accompanied them on all but one of them. They had wanted to leave their emotionally-bleeding comrade in the Ningenkai, perhaps in Yukina's care, but they couldn't bring themselves to tell Hiei--the one time they had left him behind, he had stared at them with a betrayed look in his eyes when they had returned. They hadn't left him behind since. _If we leave him behind again, he'll feel useless . . . That could make things worse . . ._ Kurama sighed again. His eyes were exactly what had been bothering them. During battle, Hiei's face and eyes had emptied of everything, and he looked like a marionette, fighting with a disturbing mechanical grace. He had slain any of the demons that had attacked him, even those Koenma had wanted alive. It had also taken him several hours to come out of his robotic stupor after the battle, during which time they had all been careful not to get too close to him for fear of provoking an automatic defensive response.

When not in battle, Hiei's eyes were not masked, as they had been before. Instead, they were dark and filled with an inner, muted agony that tore at Kurama's soul. The fire demon refused to go near anyone, for the most part, opting to stay as far away from the group as possible, never letting anyone, not even Yukina, touch him. However, Yuusuke and Kuwabara had both been visited by him several times, to their surprise, and Hiei came to Kurama's apartment every night, staying anywhere from ten minutes to several hours, always silent--listening if talked to, but never responding. Not only that, but Kurama had felt the little youkai following him on several occasions, and Yuusuke and Kuwabara had reported similarly. _He's afraid to be alone, yet uncomfortable near us . . ._

That wasn't the only thing that was bothering Kurama. The fire demon also looked as though he wasn't sleeping much, and he had dark circles under his sunken eyes to show for it. In addition, Hiei wasn't eating much, if his recent, drastic weight loss was any indication. He looked fragile and ill, as one on the verge of collapse. _If only I had killed Kadyou before . . . or protected Hiei better . . ._ But there was no way for Kurama to go back and change what had happened. He could only try to make things better, though he had no idea how to go about doing it.

Kurama stretched, glancing at the clock. Hiei could show up in two minutes or two hours, depending on his whim. The fox rose and strode to the refrigerator, deciding to cook dinner while he waited--enough for two. His mission for tonight was to try to get Hiei to eat something--anything would do. The only question left was would he succeed or fail? Kurama led his mind from that query. _I refuse to fail. I don't care if he eats just one bite, as long as he eats something._

* * *

Kurama had just strained the spaghetti noodles when he felt Hiei's presence behind him. "Konban wa, Hiei. I'll be finished in a moment. Go ahead and take a seat at the table." He smiled slightly as he heard the distinct sound of a chair sliding across linoleum, then poured the noodles into a bowl and added the sauce, mixing it until the noodles were completely covered. He turned and set the bowl on the table, smiling at Hiei. The fire demon didn't react, not even looking at him. Kurama turned back to the cabinet, pulling out two plates, two glasses, and two sets of silverware. He set Hiei's place, then his own, directly across from the motionless fire demon.

Hiei's eyes had a faraway look to them, and Kurama sighed inwardly, the kind smile frozen to his face, though he knew Hiei could probably see right through it to the worry beneath if he cared. The fox served his friend, placing a small mound of spaghetti on the fire demon's plate. That seemed to bring the fire demon to himself, and he stared up at Kurama for a brief moment before an unrecognizable look passed through his eyes and he averted them, not looking at the plate or Kurama. The redhead served himself and began eating, aware that he was being somewhat cruel by tantalizing his friend. But the food was there for the taking, being offered freely. If Hiei chose not to take it, Kurama would merely have to find another tactic. "Why don't you try some, Hiei?"

Hiei looked up and stared at him for a few seconds, a strange painful look in his eyes, then looked away again, his eyes never straying to the plate in front of him as if he were afraid of the temptation. Kurama set his fork down on the plate with an unintentional clatter, watching as Hiei flinched and looked up at him in surprise. "Hiei, please eat something. I'm worried about you. Just one bite?"

Hiei's piercing red eyes locked with Kurama's for nearly thirty seconds, his gaze searching. Finally, the fire demon turned his stare to the quickly-cooling plate of spaghetti, scrutinizing it for several seconds before slowly reaching forward and picking up his fork. Kurama watched as the fire demon rotated the fork, capturing the sauce-covered noodles around the utensil. Kurama frowned slightly as Hiei looked at the fork for nearly a full minute, his hand shaking very slightly. The boy finally moved, placing the fork in his mouth, then removing it, free of the spaghetti. The fire demon paused, looking for a moment as if he were fighting the urge to spit the food out, then chewed slowly and swallowed, putting the fork down carefully as he did so. Hiei didn't look up, but Kurama could see his closed-off, somewhat pained expression.

The youko immediately disregarded dinner. Hiei's well-being was much more important than either the food or the dishes. Kurama rose and walked around the table, kneeling beside Hiei, who didn't seem to realize he was there. "Hiei . . ." The fire demon flinched and looked up at him, surprised by his proximity. "Hiei, please talk to me. I know you're hurting, and I want to help you, if you'll let me." The fire demon looked away from him, refusing to answer and betraying nothing of his thoughts with his facial expression. Kurama sighed and sat on his knees. "It's my fault. If I'd only stopped them from taking you, or killed Kadyou before . . . none of this would have happened to you, and you'd be okay."

Hiei looked up at him, but Kurama refused to meet his eyes, knowing he would only see the look of melancholy forgiveness that would make him feel worse. Even thinking about the look hurt. His inaction and lack of attentiveness had cost Hiei a lot, and it didn't seem like his friend was ever going to recover. "No." Kurama's head snapped up, his eyes filled with surprise. Hiei repeated the word, and the youko was filled with sudden relief. Hiei had spoken. Perhaps he would recover after all. He waited for more words to follow, but it was in vain.

_Maybe if I talk . . ._ "I know it's hard for you, Hiei, but please remember that I'm here for you. I'll be here for you until I die because I'm your friend." The fire demon watched him silently, his eyes containing a strange emotion that Kurama failed to place before it was gone, hidden in the darkness that shadowed the crimson. "If you're hungry, I'll cook for you. If you're tired and need a place to stay, I have this entire apartment, and you can stay here when you want to. I _want_ you to, because healing your spirit is the most important thing to me right now. Do you understand?"

Hiei looked away and nodded slowly, but Kurama could tell that he didn't quite understand. _He will, given time. All that's important right now is him knowing that he can count on me for anything._ "You look tired. Would you like to stay here tonight?"

Hiei's face registered surprise as he looked up at the redhead. The look quickly changed back to the one Kurama had been unable to place before. It disappeared, but not before the fox realized what it was. _Gratitude._ The youko smiled. "Alright, then. You can take the bed, and I'll set up an air mattress for myself." He smiled inwardly as Hiei's eyes widened at that statement. "You _are_ my guest, after all. It's proper etiquette to give the guest the bed. Besides . . . You look like you haven't been sleeping well, and the bed might help you."

The fire demon flushed slightly, evidently not having realized that anyone had noticed his lack of sleep. Kurama continued. "And you've lost a lot of weight . . . I'm worried about you, Hiei, and so are the others . . ." The fox flinched as his friend fixed him with a stare filled with guilt and regret. _He's blaming himself for worrying us . . .?_ That was just like Hiei--to blame himself for everything. Kurama resisted the urge to hug Hiei, knowing that the fire demon was shy of physical contact after what had happened. "Don't blame yourself, Hiei. It's not your fault." The youkai shifted in the chair, bringing his knees to his chest and resting the side of his face on them. Kurama winced at his friend's body language. Hiei was in need of comfort, but he was closing himself off. _Slower . . . I'm going to have to take this slower . . ._ But as long as he could help Hiei, the time spent helping him was negligible.

Kurama stood and pulled Hiei's chair from the table slightly. "Come on. Let's get you to bed. You're exhausted." Hiei stared at him for a moment, then rose and followed him to the bedroom. He watched as the youko searched through his drawers for something, blinking as he was handed a few articles of clothing--the same clothing he had worn to sleep when he had lost his memory. Kurama frowned slightly as Hiei fingered the cloth, evidently remembering. "I'll leave the room while you change, Hiei. This way I can wash your clothes for you, okay?" Hiei evidently realized that the statement required some sort of answer, so he nodded, somewhat flabbergasted. Kurama smiled at him, then left the room, closing the door behind him and heading toward the hall closet to get a few extra blankets down for himself.

He had just gotten them down when the bedroom door opened. "That was fast. But that's normal for you." He smiled at his friend, then handed him the blankets, taking his clothing as he did so. "Put those on the bed while I get the air mattress out for myself." The redhead removed it from the top shelf, then followed Hiei into the bedroom. Hiei perched on the edge of the bed, watching with dark curiosity as Kurama spread the deflated mattress out and hooked up the pump. The fox smiled slightly as Hiei jumped when he turned the air pump on. The mattress was quickly filled and capped, and Kurama spread the sheets and blankets Hiei had carried over it. He took his extra pillow from the bed and placed it on the mattress, then grinned. "There we go."

The youko turned to Hiei, still smiling. "Go ahead and get in bed, Hiei. I'm going to stay up a bit longer and run your clothes through the wash." He watched as the fire demon scooted to the headboard, then moved forward and tucked the his friend in properly, wincing inwardly as Hiei flinched at his proximity. "Good night, Hiei." He grabbed his friend's clothing from the floor and left the room, turning off the light and closing the door as he did so.

Then he deflated, sighing. Hiei was staying the night, at least, and he would hopefully sleep well. _Inari, I wish none of this had happened. I wish Hiei were okay._ He headed down the hall, running a shaky hand through his hair. He couldn't change the past--no one could. All he could do was deal with the repercussions. A saying popped into his head suddenly, which he quickly attributed to Herman Melville. _The Past is dead, and has no resurrection; but the Future is endowed with such a life, that it lives to us even in anticipation . . . In the Past is no hope; The Future is both hope and fruition._ It was true. What had happened, had happened. All he could do was try to help Hiei put the past behind him. _He's strong . . . He survived the heartbreak of being thrown away at birth, and he can survive this--especially with the help of a friend._ His worried appeased for the moment, the redhead headed off to wash Hiei's clothing and clean up the mess from dinner.

* * *

Kurama opened his eyes to darkness and sat up, wondering what had woken him. He sat still for a while, listening to his own breathing and that of Hiei. Then he frowned. Hiei's breathing sounded erratic. The redhead rose and glanced at the bed, where his friend was sleeping fitfully. _A nightmare . . .?_ The fire demon let out a strange noise--a strangled whimper--and Kurama hurried to his side. "Hiei . . . Hiei, wake up!" The words were not enough and the fox reluctantly shook Hiei, not wanting to touch him for fear of terrifying him further. The youkai cried out softly, sitting up rapidly, missing breaking Kurama's nose only because the redhead drew back. "Hiei . . ." The fire demon turned frightened, panic-filled eyes on him, and the fox flinched. "It was a nightmare, Hiei."

Hiei stared at him for a moment, his breathing harsh and ragged, before looking away, his face flushing with shame. Kurama frowned. "Hiei . . ." He sighed. This was going to get him nowhere. "Come on. Get up." Kurama headed toward the door, turning as he reached it to see Hiei still sitting there, looking at his hands. "Come on, Hiei." The fire demon looked up and slid off the bed, padding after the fox. Kurama led his friend to the kitchen and put a pan on the stove, filling it with enough milk for two and turning the burner on. He got out sugar and cocoa and slowly prepared hot cocoa, watching Hiei with no small amount of concern. _Even being comfortable did nothing to alleviate the nightmares . . ._ The fire demon was seated at the table, his legs drawn to his chest and his crimson eyes staring ahead, the pain in their recesses slightly drawn out.

When the cocoa was finally finished, Kurama drained the pan into two cups, bringing them both to the table and seating himself next to Hiei. The fire demon snapped to awareness as Kurama set the cup of cocoa down in front of him, and he picked it up and sipped at it. Kurama watched with concern as the fire demon set the cup down and swallowed with a bit of difficulty, as if there were some sort of obstruction in his throat. "Hiei . . .?"

His eyes widened as Hiei hid his face in his knees, shaking silently. The fox set down his mug and moved from his chair, kneeling in front of Hiei. "Hiei . . ." He blinked as the shaking became more violent, then threw away his hesitation. _He needs someone . . . to hold him . . . to tell him everything is going to be okay . . ._ The redhead wrapped his arms around the shuddering Forbidden Child, gathering him against his chest and frowning when Hiei didn't bother struggling. He frowned as something hit the floor, and he glanced at it and gasped. _A tear gem . . . He's crying . . .?_ He hugged his friend tightly, allowing him to bury his face in his pajama shirt, murmuring soothingly at him as he rocked back and forth with Hiei in his arms.

_He's letting it out . . .?_ It was unexpected. Hiei was much more likely to hold his emotions in. He continued to hold Hiei gently, petting his hair and making the soothing shushing noises his mother had made when he was a child and upset. After an unknown amount of time, Hiei's shaking subsided, and he lay against Kurama, his breathing catching and hiccupy. "Hiei . . ."

"I want them to go away . . ." Kurama's eyes widened at the hoarse whisper. "They won't let me sleep . . ." The fire demon looked up at Kurama, his eyes bloodshot and desperate. "I can't . . . I can't deal with them anymore, Kurama. I want them to go away . . ." There was a frightening hysterical quality to Hiei's deep voice. "I feel so weak . . . I don't know what to do . . . I tried drinking. It didn't help--it only made them worse . . . I tried taking a sleeping potion, but the they came anyway . . . I-I even tried knocking myself out . . ." The fire demon was talking very fast, his voice rising in pitch slightly with every word, his eyes far away and panicked.

_Nightmares . . ._ "Hiei . . ." The youkai blinked, sense returning to the crimson. "I can give you something that will let you sleep, but take away the dreams." He winced as Hiei's eyes turned hungry and hopeful. "But you have to take it with food." Hiei nodded, the hopeful look a spark in the darkness--a spark that, if fostered, could turn into a flame to drive the darkness away. Kurama smiled kindly at his friend and stood, gently depositing him back into the chair. "What would you like."

"Don't care. Something fast." Hiei's voice reflected his desire. He was desperate for sleep--the lack of it was driving him further into the darkness. And, from the look of it, the fire demon was terrified of that darkness.

_I don't blame him . . . That darkness leads to madness . . ._ Kurama pulled out the makings for a sandwich and quickly slapped a couple of them together, putting them on a plate and pouring a glass of milk for his friend. "Go ahead and eat. I'm going to go get it." He left the room and padded quickly to a bureau, opening a drawer and riffling through it until he found the seed he was looking for. He headed back for the kitchen to see that Hiei had already finished the sandwiches, and was waiting for him, the desperate look in his eyes added to by a new hunger. _He hasn't been eating well either . . . But that can wait for morning._ Kurama remembered. He sat across from Hiei and showed him the seed. "I'm going to grow this, and you're going to eat one leaf--chew it well. Then I will revert it back to a seed. I don't want you to try to use this without me around. It's extremely dangerous if the wrong dosage is taken." Hiei's gaze was piercing as Kurama coaxed the seed to grow into a small plant and plucked a leaf, handing it to the fire demon, who stuffed it in his mouth and began chewing with a desperate fervor. The fox watched, reverting the plant into a seed.

He smiled as Hiei swallowed and made a face. "Water?" His friend nodded, and Kurama retrieved a glass of the liquid for him, which the fire demon practically inhaled. "Good." He rose and walked around the table. "Come on." He led Hiei back to the room and tucked him in. He was turning to go to the air mattress when the youkai grabbed his arm. Kurama glanced at him with a frown, his eyes widening as he saw the fear in Hiei's eyes, mingled with trust. _Afraid that the dreams will come, and trust in . . . me . . .?_ "Hiei . . .?"

The fire demon swallowed hard. "Kurama . . . I . . . I'm scared . . ." His crimson eyes shone slightly in the moonlight streaming from the window. "Could . . . could you . . ."

"Sleep with you . . .?" Kurama finished. Hiei nodded, and the youko smiled at him tenderly, as if he were a parent. "Of course, Hiei. Whatever you need." The redhead slipped under the covers and lay down, blinking in surprise as his friend curled close to him, obviously feeling the need for contact for some reason. He shifted positions so he was holding Hiei, cradling the fire demon to his chest and listening as the boy's breathing became soft and even with sleep. _He needs me right now . . . to be a parent to him. I can live with that. Whatever he needs, whatever makes him happy, makes me happy too . . ._ "Goodnight, Hiei . . ." he whispered, running a gentle hand through spikey black tresses. Then he let sleep claim him, and fell into the world of dreams.

* * *

I said I wasn't going to finish this fic. I actually decided to give it up. Let's just say the muses had different plans. -.-;; So you all have this chapter. _And_ I know where I'm going with it. Chances are, the last chapter will be a lemon, meaning it will not be posted here, but linked to. I could be evil and end the fic here, but I won't. There will be at least one more chapter, if not two. See, I got a fic idea a loooong time ago that I wasn't going to carry out because I didn't want to start any more projects. Turns out, I can finish this fic with that idea, so I'm happy and the muses are . . . well . . . satisfied for the moment is the most accurate term.

Therefore, this fic will be finished as well . . . as soon as I get around to writing it. This chapter took over a week to write because I've been so busy with college and work. But I am working on fanfiction, so don't worry--it will get out as I can get it out. I hope to use some of Thanksgiving break--what I can spare away from relatives--writing, and most of Christmas break will be devoted to it too (though I want to catch up on reading then too). So I haven't abandoned you guys. Just don't have much time to write anymore.

I should actually be in bed right now. -.-;; Ah, well. I hope you guys like it.

And kokodragon~ To my knowledge, Hiei never eats or drinks anything but coffee throughout the series. The "sweet snow" deal was entirely fanmade, and I don't know exactly where it originated. I've read so many fics with that in it that I thought it was canon at first, but it's not. Honestly, I think it's somewhat out of character, but I use it anyway. Yukina would be much more likely to call it sweet snow. Hiei would probably be anal about it and call it by its proper name. But I use it as a sort of tradition, which I'm unwilling to let go of yet.


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